Official Site of the Seminole Cyclists

About Us

Located Where?

The Seminole Cyclists are located in Seminole County, Florida - North of Orlando.

Who Are We?

Spinning enthusiasts and outdoor cyclists who ride for recreation, fitness, training and sport.

Type of Riders?

The club has riders of all shapes, sizes, ages and skill levels ranging from recreational to racing.

Ride Offerings?

We offer various regularly scheduled rides. Pick the ride that best suits your riding skill.

Our Slogan?

Seminole Cyclists are proud of our long standing tradition:
We Build Strong Riders!

What is Our Mission?

To provide a way for cyclists of like minded goals and aspirations for health of body a safe avenue of gathering together for group riding, community enrichment and other Central Florida cycling related event support.

Tuesday-n-Thursday

Wednesday

Levels

Ride skill level expectations

A Level

Experienced to Racing

"The A ride is a demanding, spirited, no marshal, no speed cap, drop ride - with speeds expected to be typically over 24mph. An A rider should be able to maintain 20+mph averages for long periods of time, know callouts and change flats."

B+ Level

Experienced and Very Fast

"Speed cap 22-24mph. B+ riders can ride 20 miles without stopping at a very high endurance pace, know callouts and change flats.

The speed caps set are not a hardship number, but realistic expectations of speeds where you may experience a slightly higher or lower speed on that ride. But the general overall pace should fall in line with the pre-set designated speeds."

B Level

Experienced and Fast

"Speed cap 20-22mph. B riders can ride 20 miles without stopping at a high endurance pace, know callouts and change flats.

The speed caps set are not a hardship number, but realistic expectations of speeds where you may experience a slightly higher or lower speed on that ride. But the general overall pace should fall in line with the pre-set designated speeds."

B-Nice Level

Experienced Group Riding

"Speed cap 18-20mph. B-Nice riders can ride 20 miles without stopping at an endurance pace, know callouts and change flats.

The speed caps set are not a hardship number, but realistic expectations of speeds where you may experience a slightly higher or lower speed on that ride. But the general overall pace should fall in line with the pre-set designated speeds."

C Level

Marshaled Development Riding

"The C Group is a speed capped marshaled development ride. This ride helps new riders or those not familiar with group riding. This group is coached and built into a stronger and more skilled rider. Cyclists in this group are given practical knowledge of ride etiquette and how to safely be a member of a group ride.

Riders for this ride must be able to maintain a 17+ mph pace and be capable of riding at least 20 miles with only 1 stop."

Signature Saturday Einsteins Ride

34mi - All Levels - 7:30am - Lake Mary Einsteins Bagels

Route

All groups will roll out doing paces between 15-18mph for a few miles as a warm up and all group sizes will be determined day of and may be split at the discretion of the group marshals to enable the safest and smoothest ride experience.

Start Location

This ride starts and ends at Lake Mary's Einsteins Bagel Bros Shop. We leave at 7:30am sharp and do various pace rides where all groups are doing the same route. Join after the ride for a bagel and coffee with your fellow riders.

Skill Level

The A ride is a demanding, spirited, no marshal, no speed cap, drop ride - with speeds expected to be typically over 24mph.

All B groups have designated marshals, speed caps and no sprint points.

The C Group is a speed capped marshaled development ride.

Disclaimer

Disclaimer: You are advised that you ride at your own risk. The ride carries no insurance and no corporation is involved to have insurance. Bicycling is a hazardous sport and is a means of transport undertaken at your own risk. Wear a helmet, a rear view mirrow and do not wear earphones for group safety please. Review the tips page for more information.

Sunday Breakfast Ride

28mi - B Level - 8:00am - Colonial Town Park

Route

Sunday Breakfast ride leaves Heathrow - the first part of the ride travels out towards Sanford’s Oregon Trail and Orange Blvd, then makes its way back to the shady clear roads of Markham Woods. The second part of the ride continues its breezy pace back towards Heathrow via Markham Woods Rd with an option to go longer through the hilly Mandarin subdivision. This ride is not designated for novices.

Start Location

This ride starts and ends at Colonial Town Park's parking lot near the theatre. Sleep in, YES, but be ready to roll at 8:00am sharp. Join after the ride for breakfast at CTP's Cozee Cafe.

Skill Level

B level ride with no designated ride leader.

The breakfast route covers 28mi with an option to go shorter that totals 18-20mi.

Disclaimer

Disclaimer: You are advised that you ride at your own risk. The ride carries no insurance and no corporation is involved to have insurance. Bicycling is a hazardous sport and is a means of transport undertaken at your own risk. Wear a helmet, a rear view mirrow and do not wear earphones for group safety please. Review the tips page for more information.

TnT Ride

20mi - A and B Levels - 6:00pm - Colonial Town ParkCancelled until spring time change

Route

Get those quads pumping for the beginning and ending of the work week with the TnT stampede from the Colonial Town Park. This ride travels down International Parkway across SR46 for a nice gradual incline climb on Orange Blvd back across SR46. From there it will take you on a quick downhill on Lake Sylvan to Markham road turning around at Fox Spur and back up hill on Lake Sylvan. The ride comes to an end with a strong finish back down Intl parkway across SR46A then continuing down International Parkway towards the end and turning around once again to return to the Colonial Town Park.

Start Location

This ride starts and ends at Colonial Town Park's parking lot near the theatre. Be ready to roll at 6:00pm sharp. Join after the ride for pizza and beer at CTP's Papa Joe's Pizza.

Skill Level

A and B level rides with no designated ride leader.

This ride is not designated for novices.

Disclaimer

Disclaimer: You are advised that you ride at your own risk. The ride carries no insurance and no corporation is involved to have insurance. Bicycling is a hazardous sport and is a means of transport undertaken at your own risk. Wear a helmet, a rear view mirrow and do not wear earphones for group safety please. Review the tips page for more information.

Wrong Way Wednesday Ride

20mi - A and B Levels - 6:00pm - Colonial Town ParkCancelled until spring time change

Route

If your GPS is re-calculating your route then you are headed in the correct direction! The WWW ride is the same route taken by the TnT rides, but in the opposite direction. Enjoy this heart pounding exhilarating ride and afterwards enjoy dinner at Colonial Town Park restaurants.

Start Location

The WWW ride starts and ends at Colonial Town Park's parking lot near the theatre. Be ready to roll at 6:00pm sharp. Join after the ride for dinner at one of CTP's restaurants.

Skill Level

A and B level rides.

The WWW route covers 20mi. This ride is not designated for novices.

The marshals are there to help monitor the ride for speed and safety. If you choose not to obey the laws, you will be asked not to participate.

Disclaimer

Disclaimer: You are advised that you ride at your own risk. The ride carries no insurance and no corporation is involved to have insurance. Bicycling is a hazardous sport and is a means of transport undertaken at your own risk. Wear a helmet, a rear view mirrow and do not wear earphones for group safety please. Review the tips page for more information.

Our Sponsors

Basic Guidelines

Law of the Land

Bicycle traffic laws are almost the same as those for motor vehicles. All state laws either define bicycles as vehicles or give cyclists the rights and responsibilities of vehicle operators. Unfortunately, police do not enforce these laws, probably on the principle that only the cyclist is likely to be injured.

Duty and Tools

Lets be Safe

Each rider is responsible for their own safety. Know the rules of the road. Know your own limits. Communicate with each other. Doing these things ensures the safety for all riders in the group as well as yourself.

Precautionary Tools

Riding at dusk or dawn - have reflective clothing, have lights, and wear light colored clothing. Handlebar mirrors are great for seeing traffic behind you. Gloves are good for giving you a solid grip on your handlebars when your hands are sweaty or greasy. Always, Always, Always wear your helmet. Bring water for hydration. Bring a spare and CO2 or a pump to fix a flat. Don't rely on your fellow bikers to provide you equipment and tools that you - yourself should have.

Paceline Riding

Solo rides are a great part of the cycling experience. Nothing beats cruising along and looking at the scenery, or attacking a climb at your own pace and intensity. But riding with a small group can be even more fun. You cover ground faster, meet people, and experience the thrill of shared effort. Paceline riding isn’t difficult to learn. Here are the basic skills:

Riding a Straight Line

Start by learning to ride like you’re on a rail. Practice by holding your line during solo rides. Put your wheel on the road’s white edge line and keep it there. Relax your upper body, keep a light grip on the handlebar, and fix your peripheral vision on the line. Keep your actual focus 20 or 30 feet in front of the bike. Remember, the bike will go where your eyes go.

Following a Wheel

Drafting another rider saves you at least 15 percent in energy output. It’s foolish to be bucking the wind all the time when you’re with other riders. Share the work by drafting them and letting them draft you.

Position your front wheel 1 to 3 feet behind the rear wheel you’re following. The closer the better, in terms of the draft, but closer also requires a lot more attention. When necessary, turn the cranks without putting pressure on the pedals (“soft pedal”) to maintain correct spacing.

Use the brakes sparingly. Jerky braking creates chain reaction problems for riders behind you. If you need to brake, feather the levers lightly instead of clutching at them.

If a gap opens, don’t make things worse by accelerating too hard, overrunning the wheel in front, then grabbing the brakes. Instead, ease back up to the rider in front. If you don’t become proficient at following a wheel, you can waste more energy than you save by constant yo-yoing.

Look past the rider directly in front. Don’t stare down at his rear wheel or you won’t see things that may cause him to brake or swerve.

Paceline Pointers

First rule: Be predictable. Close riding demands that everyone be on the same wavelength. There must be a basic understanding of what is and is not expected behavior in a given circumstance. Experience helps.

Don’t accelerate when it’s your turn at the front. Note your cyclecomputer’s mph and maintain the group’s speed when the lead rider pulls off.

After your own bout against the wind, pull off to the side agreed upon and stay close to the others as you soft pedal and slide back to the rear of the paceline. This enhances the drafting effect for the whole group. It also keeps everyone as far out of the traffic flow as possible, making paceline riding possible even on busier roads.

As you come abreast of the last rider in the line, pick up speed and then slide over behind his wheel as he comes past. When done correctly you won’t need an energy-wasting acceleration in order to latch back on. Once in the caboose position you can take a drink or stand to stretch without disrupting the paceline’s smoothness.

Protect your front wheel. If your rear wheel is struck a fall is unlikely because it has nothing to do with steering the bike. However, if your front wheel is contacted it will often be twisted off line faster than you can react. You’ll almost certainly go down. Help prevent this by never overlapping someone’s rear wheel.

Aerobars

Excellent for when you are riding alone, aerobars should not be used when riding in a pace line for a couple reasons. First, you have less control over your bicycle and that places the riders behind you in jeopardy. Even if you allow extra space in front, you cannot control the space behind. Second, in a pace line each rider is counting on the draft from the person in front, and if you drop into your aerobars you have lessened your effort while increasing the required effort of the rider following you.

Routinely Survey the Paceline - Near and Far

Keep an eye on what is happening up at the front of the paceline as well as the rider in front of you. You'll less likely be caught off guard in changes in speed of the rider directly in front of you if you see what is going on up ahead. Use your visual and audio cues with the rider directly in front of you to determine their riding state (i.e. braking, free wheeling, and higher or lower cadences).

Pay Attention

If you're holding a conversation in a paceline, then you are probably not paying attention to what's going on during the ride in front of you and you are now an endangerment to yourself and all the riders behind you. Don't rely soley on the riders ahead of you to tell you where there is a hole, an obstacle, glass, bump, or roadkill.

Emergency Contacts

No-one wants to be involved in an accident, but never-the-less they do happen. In the case where you are unable to communicate due to an accident have your emergency contact information available on yourself.

A good item to have is a RoadId bracelet. This contains your name and three contact names and is readily visible to your support team. Click here to order your RoadId.

Have a business card sized paper on yourself - listing your emergency contacts if you don't have a bracelet.

Have an ICE (In Case of Emergency) contact in your mobile phone that anyone could locate.

Contact Us

Seminole Cyclists, the Premier Cycling Club in Central Florida, where no rider gets left behind. There are no membership fees. There are no club dues. Show up to one of the rides for a unique cycling experience.

President: Brad Patterson - lcmotorsports042@yahoo.com

Vice President: Tony Dominquez - othon@digitaljuice.com

From the executive staff we welcome your questions...
Contact the Seminole Cyclists with questions or cycling related information.